Conventional film and more recently, digital cameras, are widely commercially available, ranging both in price and in operation from sophisticated single lens reflex (SLR) cameras used by professional photographers to inexpensive “point-and-shoot” cameras that nearly anyone can use with relative ease. During use, however, the user may shake or otherwise move the camera causing the image to appear blurred.
Tri-pods have long been used to stabilize a camera during image capture. More sophisticated mechanical devices which correct for camera motion including roll of the camera about the lens axis are also available. These mechanical devices operate by driving a platform that the camera is mounted to in a direction opposite the movement sensed by a sensor on the platform. While these work well, e.g., when mounted on aircraft, this is an expensive and bulky solution which is undesirable for use with personal or hand-held consumer cameras.
Image stabilizing subsystems for cameras are also commercially available which include logic for determining how much and in what direction (yaw or pitch) a camera is moving (e.g., based on input from a motion sensor such as a gyroscope). The logic moves either the entire camera lens, or an optical group in the camera lens in a direction opposite the camera movement during exposure of the image to stabilize the captured image. However, the nature of a camera lens only allows correction of yaw and pitch (e.g., movement about the x and y axes).